Former Wild coach Todd Richards declined a request to talk about how good the Minnesota roster looks today compared to the time when he was head coach for two seasons between 2009 and ’11.

“I’m not going to comment on the past,” he said before the game between his Columbus Blue Jackets and the Wild on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at the Xcel Energy Center.

But it wasn’t difficult to deduce what Richards might be thinking when he talked about the lineup his team would be facing Tuesday evening.

“Their group of forwards would match up against any team in the NHL right now,” he said before the game. “They’ve got guys on every line that can finish. They’ve got grit and sandpaper on their fourth line there, to keep other teams honest, but I think they’ve got three lines that can go offensively for them.”

While the Blue Jackets picked up defenseman Adrian Aucoin, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov in the offseason, none rank at the level of Minnesota’s offseason pickups of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.

“They landed two guys in free agency,” Richards said. “That’ll make their team better.”

A former University of Minnesota star, Richards said he was excited for the challenge his team would face. He talked about trying to shut down the Wild’s offense in much the same way the Blue Jackets did in a 2-1 win over Dallas in Columbus on Monday night.

Fog in the Twin Cities prevented Richards and his team from departing Columbus after the game. That reduced Richards’ homecoming considerably after the team flight landed in midafternoon.

“Eight hours,” he said.

It wasn’t the first delay for Richards, who served as a Blue Jackets assistant until Scott Arniel was fired and he became interim head coach for the final 41 games last season. Richards was hurt in a practice mishap and missed the first Columbus trip to the X that season.

Although the Blue Jackets had a miserable season last year, they were 16-14-1 in their final 31 games under Richards. The Crystal native got the full-time coaching job May 5 and was eager to start anew this season, but the lockout threw a wrench into those plans. As for every new coach, practice time to install different systems was severely limited.

“But,” he said, “we’re all in the same boat.”

BRIEFLY

Defenseman Jared Spurgeon missed the game against Columbus because of a bruised foot and is listed as day to day, according to Wild coach Mike Yeo. … Defenseman Nate Prosser and forward Matt Kassian were Minnesota’s healthy scratches. … After giving Nik Backstrom the start in goal against the Blue Jackets, Yeo is expected to use Josh Harding in goal against the Chicago Blackhawks at the X on Wednesday night.

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